i THINK this might be final

thefatman · 05-13-2003, 11:32 AM

ok here is what i assume could quite possibly be the final design of the stand.

the bottom left houses the fuge, which will be viewable through the stand, via cutout. and will be on a reverse light cycle. i decided to use my 20long as the fuge. (30x12x10) i'll be using the fuge for growing macroalgae's, pods and worms. will i maybe be able to keep some horses in there? since it wont have as much flow as the main tank, and will have no food competeters? also thinking about maybe some smaller stuff as well, like hermits or whatever. something to put some life into it, since it will be visible.

the bottom right will house the sump, skimmer, and return pump. i decided to use a 29g (30x18x12) still trying to figure out how i'm goign to configure the inside of the sump though.

the compartment on the right side of the tank, will have shelves for storage of test kits and food, and possibly a shelf for phyto culture and brine shrimp

in the future, in the future..

the right side compartment will also conceal the plumbing going to the sump and fuge and back, along it's left wall. the face of that compartment also overlaps the tank edge, by about 6 inches. behind that i'm going to put in a full side overflow from front to back, instead of jsut a corner overflow. this will give me more room to get my hands inside, and possibly i can put two drains instead of one.

the top of course is the canopy, naturally the part over the tank will have the lights. the part over the right side shelves, will house the ballasts and light switches, so i dont have to run such long wires from the bottom of the stand. and of course, there will be plenty of fans installed as well, in the light area as well as the ballast area.

behind the tank, will be the plumbing for a cls, i'm going to use 1 1" drain line to the cl pump, and then return with 4 - 3/4" lines. 2 of which will go into a tank long rear and lower spray bar

the tank will drain into the sump, and have a t off with a gate or ball valve to limit flow into the fuge. the fuge will then flow over into the sump, past the skimmer intake. and hopefully bring lots of pods and worms with it

the fuge will also be up on a shelf, so that it's drain is higher than the sump.

over all the stnad is 6 feet wide, giving me plenty of space for the two 30" tanks below. there will be two lower doors for access to the sump, and one higher door for access to the shelving next to the tank. the left side will havea door on the end, for access to the fuge and it's plumbing.i may hinge the plyood in front of the fuge as well. the entire front of the canopy will be on a piano hinge, so that it can lift and completley lay back over the top of the canopy. the top will also be on hinges so that it can be lifted, along with the lights, when needed, for easier access to the inside of the tank, and the lights. so basically, the top and front will be one big double door.

i'm planning to put all the wiring for the lights and fans inside 1/2" pvc mounted along the inside of the canopy to avoid any droppy wires in the water.

i'm also hoping this will all help to make the tank look better inside as well, since there will be no visible plumbing in the tank, and the overflow will occupy one end instead of just the corner, and the cls should eliminate the need for any powerheads inside the tank aswell. and overall this gives me about 110 gallons to work with. (the sump will only be filled about halfway)

i'm PRETTY sure, this is the final design

(for this week anyway lol)

Phantom Phish · 05-13-2003, 11:51 AM

Looks great, very well thought out. The only thing I might suggest is to make sure you don't put your refugium/macroalgae tank too high, so that you'll have enough room above it to be able to get into the tank and "harvest" your macroalgae from time to time. I don't know if it would mess up your plumbing, but maybe you could swap the top or bottom around, so that the refugium is in the bottom right instead of the left (below the tank).
That might give you better access to the refugium and sump.

Either way, it looks great. I'd love to see some pictures when you get it done.

Buzz_Hog · 05-13-2003, 12:19 PM

Would be sweet if you could have the refuge on a heavy duty slide out shelf...

foobuddha · 05-13-2003, 12:25 PM

Looks like a great plan so far Jay. I too would say swap sides for the 'fuge, but purely for aesthetic reasons.

NewReefer · 05-13-2003, 12:33 PM

I like the idea of having the side doors next to the main tank. Will that be a separate shelf there, is that what you are talking about?

thefatman · 05-13-2003, 01:31 PM

side doors shelves/ yeah there will be a shelfin there tha is level with the shelf the tank sits on, and then another mid high, fo liht storage, and then another, even with the top of the tank, that will have the ballasts all the way at the top.

yeah i check on the height of the fuge. so that i would be able to rach into int etc.. the tank itself is only 4" high. what you cant tell from the pics, is that there is still about 6-8 inches above the fuge, till you get to the top of the inside stand area. that's just a big piece of trim (the darker piece) put there to cover the tank plastic trim, and jsut for looks.

i would love to have the fuge lower, even centered in it's area, but i cant do that, because then there is an isue of the fuge draining into the sump. if the fuge is too low, then if the sump fills, like in a power outtage, it could reverse drain back into the fuge, which is only 20 gallons, and already filled ot begin with!

a heavy duty slide out shelf! now, that does sound awesome in theory!! but it might be hard findind a shelf that i'd be able to slide out, carrying the weight of 200+ pounds of water!

the only problem with swapping sides on the fuge andsump, is that the left side will be about 6" away from a wall, whereas the right side is in open room, and next do a doorway, which would give me access to the fuge from the right end door. it might be a bit harder to get to, on the left side.

course, the plans are bound to go through some minor tweaks and adjustments, once everything is here and i start building. since it will be much easier to actually view how high the tanks are in relation to each other and how much teh fuge needs to be raised, etc.. for the record, i like the looks aspect of having the fuge on the other side, i htink it gives a more modern look. but, i dont want to sacrifice ease of use and funtionality. we'll see though once, building begins.

foobuddha · 05-13-2003, 01:57 PM

Jay,

Here's a thought for a sliding shelf - check server rack companies - graybar is one, I'm sure a google search will turn up more.

Geoff · 05-13-2003, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thefatman
course, the plans are bound to go through some minor tweaks and adjustments, once everything is here and i start building.

no, really.

you changing your mind again in mid-build.

looks great!

G~

grazhopr · 05-13-2003, 02:08 PM

I like it the way it is now. I've seen some setups where the tanks sit aside of each other, but never a whole system planned to have a display fuge like yours. Both tanks in the same side makes it look like they're one system. The tanks in opposite sides may look like there are two stands one on top of the other.
I think that's why I like it the way you conceived it.
Keep us posted!

thefatman · 05-13-2003, 02:16 PM

another thing i like is that with the fuge below the tank, like grazhop said, it looks like one tank. when it's fileld and actually hasstuff in it, it sort of looks like the main tank, hasa flase bottom, and oh look some water spilled down underneath int oanother one.. ok well not really like that.. but you know what i mean

me changing my mind doug... why, what ever are you implying

btw: here is the tank that gave me the inspiration to havea visible fuge. you'll get a better idea of what i'm shooting for.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...61642795jukUPB
another-with water and stuff
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...61664714imaXpO

and this one gave me the idea for the side shelves.
http://www.sjwilson.net/reef/

Doug1 · 05-13-2003, 02:25 PM

"me changing my mind doug... why, what ever are you implying "
Uh Gee wiz, I er uh ahem didnt do it

Flame Angels tank is trick looking,eh

thefatman · 05-13-2003, 02:41 PM

yeah here tnak is fabulous!!

i emailed her and told her about her inspiration and she was nice enough to send me a link to all her layout diagrams that arent visible online anymore...

gave me a much better idea of what i'm shooting for.

SouthernReefer · 05-13-2003, 02:47 PM

imho, i would make the the space under the main tank at 40", this would allow for an access panel on the outside to get to the refugium, and better viewing of the main tank. the cabinets on the one side is a nice idea! but i would make those cabinets seperate so they can be a removable item just like the hood.
looks great so far!

thefatman · 05-13-2003, 03:38 PM

well i have it planned right now at 36" which is about high as i can go, since even at that height working within the tank is a difficult. i could always invest in a step stoo lthough

or jsut build one that matches !! i'll have to see how it works out once construction begins. i have my current stand built at 36" high with my 55 on it, and it just the righ height for viewing, but makes work sort of difficult.

yeah the cabinets on the side will be made out of 2x2 instead of 2x4, and will be secured to the stand top (where the tank sits) using L brackets, so, by just popping off a few srcewes it can lift right off. will also make bringing it into the house quite a big easier as well!

Buzz_Hog · 05-13-2003, 03:47 PM

Build one into the stand...